Multnomah County OR Archives Biographies.....Moser, Hon. Gustavus C. November 15, 1870 - ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/or/orfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Ila L. Wakley iwakley@msn.com April 23, 2006, 12:23 am Author: The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Volume II, Pages 115-116 HON. GUSTAVUS C. MOSER. For sixteen years a member of the state senate, the Hon. Gustavus C. Moser has established a record which exceeds in continuity of service that of any other man in Oregon, and his work in behalf of the commonwealth during that period has elicited the highest commendation. At the same time he has furthered Portland’s progress along many lines and has long been classed with the city’s foremost attorneys. A native of Alma, Wisconsin, he was born November 15, 1870. His parents, Fred and Anna (Arne) Moser, are both deceased. Reared on his father’s dairy farm, Mr. Moser attended the public schools of that locality and took a business course in Valparaiso University of Indiana, where he also studied law. In 1891 he came to the Pacific northwest, reaching Portland on the 1st of June, and soon afterward began reading law under the direction of W. M. Gregory. On June 1, 1894, Mr. Moser was admitted to the bar and for thirty-four years has practiced successfully in this city, specializing in corporation and admiralty law, subjects on which he is exceptionally well informed. Since July 1, 1919, he has been attorney for the Port of Portland, for which he has never lost a case, and he is also counsel for the Swiss consulate and for several estates. He has offices in the Yeon building and enjoys a large clientele. On July 10, 1898, Mr. Moser was united in marriage to Miss Sara Meta Keats, who is a daughter of Thomas Keats and was formerly engaged in teaching in Portland. Mr. Moser is a stanch adherent of the republican party and in 1905 was appointed chief deputy district attorney, acting in that capacity for four years. Since 1912 he has represented his district in the state senate, of which he was president in 1917-1918 and again in 1925-1926, serving as governor of Oregon for a week during the latter year. From the start he was active in legislation for good roads and campaigned the state for the first bond issue. In 1913 he was made chairman of the senate judiciary committee and as such has presided over all of its meetings except during the years when he was president of that law-making body. He is an able parliamentarian and as a debater is forceful, resourceful and convincing. In his public service Mr. Moser has shown a broad comprehension of the needs of his state and the integrity and single-mindedness of purpose of the true statesman. Mr. Moser served for three years in the Oregon National Guard as a member of Company F of the Third Regiment and became first sergeant. He has always been in the vanguard of movements looking toward the accomplishment of real and practical good and was the prime mover in the reorganization of the Port of Portland. At the present time he is attorney for the Portland Baseball Club, of which he is secretary and also a director. He was a member of the building committee that had charge of the erection of the new Elks Temple in this city, and at Atlantic City in July, 1911, delivered a speech which secured for Portland the Elks convention in 1912. Mr. Moser was chairman of the entertainment committee in 1912 and also in 1925, when the convention was again held here. He is a past exalted ruled of Portland Lodge, No. 142, B. P. O. E., and has also held the post of district deputy. In the Knights of Pythias he is a past grand chancellor and a past supreme representative. As one of the delegates of that order he went to Winnipeg, Canada, in 1914 and it was owing to his efforts that the members of the Supreme Lodge of the Knights of Pythias were induced to come to Portland in 1916. He is connected with the Dramatic Order of the Knights of Khorassan, the Loyal Order of Moose, the Woodmen of the World, the Knights of The Maccabees, the United Artisans, the Security Benefit Association, and is also a Knight Templar Mason and a noble of the Mystic Shrine, while his wife is identified with the Daughters of the Nile and the Pythian Sisters. Mr. Moser has served on the legislative committee of the Chamber of Commerce and also belongs to the Portland Ad Club, the Progressive Business Men’s Club, the Multnomah Golf Club and the Multnomah Amateur Athletic Club, being a life member of the last named organization. He is an ex-president of the Multnomah County Bar Association and also a member of the Oregon State and American Bar Associations. Mr. and Mrs. Moser are affiliated with the First Christian church where Mrs. Moser is a particularly diligent and active worker. The good of others has been paramount with Mr. Moser, whose activities have touched life at many points, and, judged from the standpoint of service, his career has been notably successful. Mr. Moser has always taken a prominent part in the fraternal and civic organizations with which he is affiliated and has been a loyal “booster” for Portland and for Oregon. Additional Comments: History of the Columbia River Valley From The Dalles to the Sea, Volume II, Chicago, The S. J Clarke Publishing Company, 1928 File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/or/multnomah/bios/moser45gbs.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/orfiles/ File size: 5.7 Kb